Solid win, but what needs cleaning up?

[SwingDog]

17 turnovers is too many, and shooting 12-21 from the free throw line are the obvious things. Another observation is that it looked to me like Josh Carlton was either standing in mud or had weights around his ankles; he needs to be more agile. I can't figure out if he can't dunk or just doesn't want to but there are time when he clearly needs to dunk the ball.

 

[husky429]

Our starting PG being a complete disaster would help. Our starting shooting guard turning it over 6x would help too. Also, our starting C deciding to stop counting sheep at half-time.

Luckily, these are all very fixable and Hurley will have them locked in tomorrow.

 

[Castlevania]

Unfortunately Carlton just isn't that athletic. There were multiple times where we saw that tonight, the most obvious being on the bunny he missed late that he shoulda just jammed, and the lob where he barely got his feet off the ground.

 

[intlzncster]

17 turnovers is too many, and shooting 12-21 from the free throw line are the obvious things. Another observation is that it looked to me like Josh Carlton was either standing in mud or had weights around his ankles; he needs to be more agile. I can't figure out if he can't dunk or just doesn't want to but there are time when he clearly needs to dunk the ball.

He has no explosion. He's never had explosion.

I almost feel like he put on too much weight. But it's premature to make that call.

 

[Squidward]

AG just doesn't have it right now and it sucks because he's so talented.

 

[intlzncster]

Our starting PG being a complete disaster would help. Our starting shooting guard turning it over 6x would help too. Also, our starting C deciding to stop counting sheep at half-time.

Luckily, these are all very fixable and Hurley will have them locked in tomorrow.

Brendan Adams in for Gilbert settled us down. He doesn't make many mistakes.

Vital giving up all those TOs in Vital. I don't think you'll get rid of it at this stage of his career. He's just loose.

 

[SwingDog]

He has no explosion. He's never had explosion.

I almost feel like he put on too much weight. But it's premature to make that call.

Hopefully his footwork, and explosiveness as you say, are things that can be worked on at least to some degree because he's giving up some crucial points in the paint. If weight is an issue maybe dropping a few pounds will help a little but I sense that's not a significant factor.

 

[Purple Stein]

Unfortunately Carlton just isn't that athletic. There were multiple times where we saw that tonight, the most obvious being on the bunny he missed late that he shoulda just jammed, and the lob where he barely got his feet off the ground.

Dude just can’t elevate.

Turnovers were rough, and outlet passing sketchy.

Brendan Adams plays within himself —love CV but it’s crazy how much Adams and Vital are polar opposites on the floor.

 

[Wordbomar]

Carlton needs to dunk the dang ball. He misses so many bunnies. JUST DUNK IT

 

[Mano]

We need to establish Carlton in the post early in the 1st half and he needs to show he wants it. He was big in the second half and we struck a nice inside/outside game as a result.

The sloppy, slopfest of basketball that was played for long stretches throughout the game was not great. If we are going to run we need to be smart about picking our opportunities.

We need to use Bouk as instant fire off the bench. He was last off the bench tonight, I wonder if that was part of his punishment? I bet that changes. He can slither in and get a quick bucket here and there. I want to see a lot of BA, CV, JB, AA, and JC on the court together.

 

[SwingDog]

Unfortunately Carlton just isn't that athletic. There were multiple times where we saw that tonight, the most obvious being on the bunny he missed late that he shoulda just jammed, and the lob where he barely got his feet off the ground.

Right, and it wasn't just toward the end of the game when he was gassed. Good point regarding his lack of athleticism; we know that's not his strength. His greatest asset is his size and he was able to use it to pull down a bunch of rebounds but I can't help but think how much better he could be if he had a little more hops and a bit better footwork.

 

[selles]

He has no explosion. He's never had explosion.

I almost feel like he put on too much weight. But it's premature to make that call.

We have a center we can count on for somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 and 8, when was the last time we could say that?

This board's so focused on what he can't do that we neglect the significant value he provides.

 

[80shusky]

UConn should really play their other center who can give them 12 pts, 10 rbs, 4 blks.

 

[zls44]

I'd like Carlton to stop immediately going full speed backpedal on every drive at him.

 

[UKemba15]

Has anyone else noticed that Carlton moves much quicker on D - with lots of energy - for the last like 4-5 minutes of games? Saw it tonight and against Florida. I understand that a big of his size (with no explosiveness to speak of) won't be able to move with that kind of intensity for 30 minutes, but I'd rather see him get more short spells on the bench so he goes all out when in the game. If it was just a marginal uptick then I'd get the 'final minutes adrenaline boost' idea, but it's a very noticeable increase in desire and tenacity/hustle...and quick feet. Like a switch flips and he turns his jets on suddenly (relatively speaking). Another nod to his occasional lack of motor. Just something I saw the last 2 games...someone with more knowledge than me let me know if I'm off base. Very fun to see when he can aggressively hedge on the screen and then also aggressively get back in the paint.

 

[SwingDog]

We have a center we can count on for somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 and 8, when was the last time we could say that?

This board's so focused on what he can't do that we neglect the significant value he provides.

That's true, but he does have some liabilities and maybe some things that can be improved as he will be relied on a great deal as the season progresses. But yes, he did produce, not only points and rebounds, but I believe a few blocks as well.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Carlton needs to dunk the dang ball. He misses so many bunnies. JUST DUNK IT

It’s gonna be OK...Once December hits.

I thought I saw an insta story that Josh is just doing his version of “No Nut November “...but instead it’s ”No Dunk November”

 

[jdb50]

It is early in the year folks. I think Josh will be there for us as the year moves on. No one on the team is hitting on all cylinders yet. He is a good one once he starts to make more free throws.

 

[UCFan1513]

The camera angle

 

[Towney007]

1.) I feel like Hurley needs to hire someone on staff for a 2-year contract who's sole job is to yell at Carlton from the sidelines and remind him continuously that he's an enormous human. Seems to be a slow starter (like a lot of these guys) and 2H Carlton is almost way better than 1H Carlton. He's just gotta get some more confidence. He's no pro, but he's a huge problem at this level if he'd let himself be one.

2.) Gilbert needs to plug into the season and stop playing terrible basketball. I'd love to stick up more for the kid, but he's an insanely stupid PG who makes a lot of the same mistakes offensively and at least at the moment - is a total liability defensively. If Adams continues the run he's been on and Bouknight is half as good as he was tonight - he's going to lose a ton of playing time. If Gaffney does what he did tonight and keeps gradually improving, then he might play himself out of the rotation. You guys know me, i'm not a small sample mong, but holy smokes - he's a total mess right now and i'm not sure if/how you use him until he shows he can play out of it in practice.

3.) Free throw shooting feels like an emerging problem with this group that will 100% cost us a game or two this year and you know it. Not that things can't improve, but there were 2-3 different occasions where a pair of made free throws would have dropped the axe tonight.

4.) Is it impossible for us to come out ready to play and not just after five minutes have gone by? We are PhD level hole diggers. And it happens *every game*. They gotta try some new things to spark them up before games.

5.) Some random observations and little things that can be fixed- Can we pass the ball to Carlton and not drag him 350 feet away from the hoop when we do it? Why make him dribble? Our passes into the post are horrifying. Speaking of passing - our outlet passes aren't much better and we rush things on the break and then don't finish with intent. Out in-bounds plays are barf-bag level bad - or at least the execution level of them is.

That's all I've got right now...

 

[ucawn]

Gotta be solid on FTs, 2nd half was solid on limiting turnovers but throughout the game we had some lame turnovers that weren’t even steals. Like dropping the ball or dribbling off our foot

 

[browndog319]

1.) I feel like Hurley needs to hire someone on staff for a 2-year contract who's sole job is to yell at Carlton from the sidelines and remind him continuously that he's an enormous human. Seems to be a slow starter (like a lot of these guys) and 2H Carlton is almost way better than 1H Carlton. He's just gotta get some more confidence. He's no pro, but he's a huge problem at this level if he'd let himself be one.

2.) Gilbert needs to plug into the season and stop playing terrible basketball. I'd love to stick up more for the kid, but he's an insanely stupid PG who makes a lot of the same mistakes offensively and at least at the moment - is a total liability defensively. If Adams continues the run he's been on and Bouknight is half as good as he was tonight - he's going to lose a ton of playing time. If Gaffney does what he did tonight and keeps gradually improving, then he might play himself out of the rotation. You guys know me, i'm not a small sample mong, but holy smokes - he's a total mess right now and i'm not sure if/how you use him until he shows he can play out of it in practice.

3.) Free throw shooting feels like an emerging problem with this group that will 100% cost us a game or two this year and you know it. Not that things can't improve, but there were 2-3 different occasions where a pair of made free throws would have dropped the axe tonight.

4.) Is it impossible for us to come out ready to play and not just after five minutes have gone by? We are PhD level hole diggers. And it happens *every game*. They gotta try some new things to spark them up before games.

5.) Some random observations and little things that can be fixed- Can we pass the ball to Carlton and not drag him 350 feet away from the hoop when we do it? Why make him dribble? Our passes into the post are horrifying. Speaking of passing - our outlet passes aren't much better and we rush things on the break and then don't finish with intent. Out in-bounds plays are barf-bag level bad - or at least the execution level of them is.

That's all I've got right now...

You basically got what’s in my brain right now. AG plays like he’s afraid he’s going to hurt himself or expects everyone to say “well, he lost X years because injured”. They spent all summer saying this was the first time he trained not hurt. He’s an elite athlete. He’s either not hurt and an elite athlete who belongs starting at UConn or he is hurt, should be on the bench and/or not at UConn, not both. It’s like being a little bit pregnant. Not possible.

How can you suck this much on free throws? This should be part of every practice right now. They should all be able to hit 90% plus. Those are gimme points and you have no idea who will be on the court at the end of a game.

 

[Palatine]

Unforced TOs. Foul shooting. Stopping opposing guards from turning the corner.

 

[Kitaman]

Polley continues to be a mystery. He's struggling to define how he wants to play. Perhaps our expectations are to high. He has a nice stroke, but with his size rarely slashes to the rim drawing fouls, or in position for offensive put backs, or even midrange/pull up jumpers. Kid has a lot more work to do to meet his potential. He should be a key player not just playing a supportive role.

6'9" of potential! What do you want to do with it Tyler? We ready to elevate our cheers, help us!

 

[Excalibur]

Unforced TOs. Foul shooting. Stopping opposing guards from turning the corner.

That's pretty much it. I think we had at least 4 turnovers where we just handed the ball to UB without any pressure at all. Vital is often guilty of it, but at this point you just take the bad with the good.

We've got to be better than 55% from the line.

The dribble penetration is an issue, but UB's guards are strong and fast and we were selling out a bit to close on the 3 point line.